Russell Wilson to be on baseball card
— -- Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson may never wear a Texas Rangers jersey in a big league game, but he'll appear in one on a Topps baseball card this season.
Wilson, who was selected by the Rangers in the Rule 5 draft in December and has expressed interest in joining the club at some point during spring training, will appear in a Rangers uniform on the card, which will be available beginning April 30 as part of Topps' Bowman series, which is reserved for prospects. It will be a "limited edition" card.
"Sports fans have always been fascinated by the two-sport star," Topps vice president of product development Clay Luraschi said. "When you talk to fans about amazing athletes, you always hear the name Bo Jackson come up. And whenever you have an athlete that could potentially be a two-sport star, there's always a lot of buzz about him.
"Will he ever play for the Rangers? We don't know. But we thought we'd make a card to let people know what it would look like if he did."
This isn't the first time Wilson has appeared on a baseball card.
Topps made a Wilson card as part of its Bowman Draft and Topps Pro Debut Series in 2010.
The Rangers have made no secret of the fact it's a long shot Wilson winds up playing baseball. But they made the decision to draft him, at a cost of $12,000, because they wanted someone like Wilson to be around their young players at spring training and show them what it takes to succeed at the highest level.
Wilson has a past in the sport.
He was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft by the Colorado Rockies -- he was taken in the 41st round by the Baltimore Orioles in 2007 out of high school but opted to go to NC State -- and signed with the Rockies. Once he received nearly $3 million from the Seahawks, he had to return part of his $200,000 signing bonus.
Wilson hit .229 with five homers, 19 stolen bases and 118 strikeouts playing second base in Class A in parts of the 2010 and '11 seasons.
A group of players, like Wilson, can boast about having football and baseball cards as two-sport athletes, headlined by Jackson. And more than a few have Dallas connections. Former Cowboys quarterbacks Quincy Carter, Drew Henson and Chad Hutchinson have football and baseball cards, along with former Texas Longhorns running back Ricky Williams and former Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders.
"[Wilson] is a very popular collectible and even more so now," Luraschi said. "He's young and he's done well, and there are a lot of great young QBs that collectors chase."
Wilson is preparing to play in his first Super Bowl on Sunday against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.
